


All the Hidden Lights

by InkRavens



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abuse, Advice, Healing, Past Violence, Running Away, Shiranui Headcannons, small drabbles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:40:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25346356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkRavens/pseuds/InkRavens
Summary: Genma watched the fireflies outside. He always liked lights: candle flames, lanterns, lightning, fireflies… His knees were pulled up to his chest. The roof was sturdy. That was one of the reasons he had chosen this place. He rolled his cheek on his knee so that his head was tilted sideways then did it again the other way. Feeling the rough fabric on his cheeks. The fireflies moved about in the overgrowth of the yard. Visible then gone. Visible then gone. His own surname was based on lights. Shiranui. Will O’ the Wisps are what some people called them. Ghost lights. Phantom Fire. Genma laughed. He himself was like a spirit now. No one knew. He was free. He smiled. No one would ever know.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Advice Freely Given

**Author's Note:**

> Hi  
> Fair warning here since I'm new to the tags (advice welcome with them) There's mention of abuse in this and I don't know how graphic it will become. I have a tendency to be very graphic with somethings and not so much with others so we will see.
> 
> This is just a small set up for what I'm hoping to continue with small bits and pieces based on some headcanons I have for Genma. I saw people asking about the reason why he would wear his forehead protector backward because that's a very unique thing to do. My immediate response was, well he was on the same genin team as Gai. He probably got knocked out a few times. Then I started thinking about how he's a smart ass and people probably smacked him on the back of the head a lot. And Gai probably would be cautious while sparring with his teammates at least a bit. Plus I'm not sure if the smacks to the back of the head made a lot of sense. Which led me to the thought that he might have been abused by a family member. And well. Here we are. 
> 
> Also I am terrible at keeping my tenses. I am very sorry.

"Genma-san. Genma-san!" Genma turned around to see one of Gai’s students jogging up to him. Neji. Birdcage boy.  
"What’s up?" Genma raised an eyebrow. He had just left the tower for the day. Raido had picked up where he left off with preparing the desk for the next Hokage, whoever that would be, and he had been awake for forty-eight plus hours. He was tired, to say the least. Still, he let the young Hyuga stop him on his way home. He had a day or so before he had to report back for a solo mission. He had to clean the house still. Had to eat dinner. Buy equipment….  
"Sorry to bother you. I know it's a busy time-" Neji bowed before starting his clearly rehearsed sentiments. Genma waved him off.  
"Nothing to be sorry for. Out with it." Oh and I should weed the garden before I leave. That's always a bitch to do after a mission.  
"I was wondering what you meant during the Chunin exams. Or rather, if you had any more advice for me."  
Genma paused, brow furrowed. Surely the kid could figure it out on his own. From what Gai had told him his family already seemed to be helping open the cage. Neji, for all his posturing, looked nervous. Asking for help was new to him.  
Genma adjusted the senbon in his mouth and clicked it between his teeth, "did Gai send you here?"  
"Sensei said if I wanted to know more, I should hear it from you. That it wasn't his story to tell." Genma thought -not for the first time- that Gai was too pure for this earth.  
"Well then. Follow me." Genma led the young Hyuga through the village. He paused at one point to buy equipment for his upcoming mission. The young boy said nothing simply stood by patiently. He was nothing like the unbalanced shinobi from the exam battle. Genma stopped for some food from a cart and offered some to the young Hyuga, who accepted it and the ate as they continued on their way.  
Eventually, they reached the forested path. Genma felt Neji pause before stepping off the main road. As they continued down it and the forest grew dense around them, he sensed Neji tensing up. It hadn't been too long since the invasion and now he was being led to an unknown location by a relatively unknown shinobi with only Gai's word that he was a comrade. He couldn't fault the kid for being nervous, be he hid it well for a genin.  
Eventually, they reached the small cottage. A small flowerbed and garden with small lanterns strung up in it could be seen off to the side. A low hanging roof with another lantern of blue glass, a porch, and a few windows. Nothing much.  
"Welcome to my home," Genma said as he undid the seals on the door and let the both of them through, disarming traps he set before he left. The two of them took off their shoes before heading to the kitchen immediately to the right.   
Neji was quiet but Genma could hear the unasked questions rattling away in his brain. Why, Where, and What? Being the prominent of them. Genma smirked. Everyone had this response to his living arrangement. They didn’t expect it. And that’s what Genma likes about it. It keeps people from placing him in a box.   
"Do you want tea?" Genma put his bags down on the small kitchen table and pulled out a kettle as Neji nods. Lighting the ancient stove with flint he goes about setting some water on it to heat. When he is done, he gestured for Neji to sit at the table before tossing his head protector down on the table and sitting himself. He runs a hand through his hair and finally feels his tired limbs protesting.  
"So, what is it you wanted to know?" the senbon moves in his mouth a bit.  
Neji looks unsure as he glances about the house. It's small. Very small. Four rooms if you count the bathroom (which honestly was the biggest room due to the full-size bath). One closet. A small yard surrounded by woods. Genma has no idea how much land went with the original deed. That went the way of the original owners sometime in the second shinobi war.  
"When you said-" Neji began, looking across the table now, his Hyuga eyes wide and unblinking, "when you said I could open the cage myself what did you mean?" Genma sighed then smiled. The water began to boil so he poured it and brought over two cups sitting back down at the table. He took a moment to figure out how to begin, taking the senbon out of his mouth and holding it between his fingers.  
"Did Gai ever mention why I wear my forehead protector on the back of my head?"  
"No. He didn't say anything."  
"Not many people know, Gai is one of five-" Genma pauses, "four, people who do. Many think it’s because I’m afraid of an attack from behind. Some think it’s from sparing with Gai as a genin. It’s actually to protect my head from walls."  
"Walls?" Neji raised an eyebrow. He held his tea in his hands.  
"And floors. And well just about anything my father could get his hands on."  
"Your father?"   
Genma nodded and sipped his tea, "my father was a very… unwell man. He was a shinobi. So was my mother. She took a bad hit to the head when she was pregnant and wasn't always there mentally after that. She was the sweetest woman you would ever meet, but she didn’t lift a finger to help me. My father, I’m not entirely sure what he wanted from me. I don’t think he knew really either. For the first ten years of my life, I was trapped there. Then I graduated from the academy and suddenly-" Genma gestured with his arms out. Teacup in one hand as if saying, here I am.  
"So-" the question was unasked.  
"So, I ran away." Genma gestured to the house, "as soon as I had an income. I squatted here. Started over. My point was Neji, there are always options. Even if they don't feel like options or even logical. Even if they're going to rock the boat. There are options. If you reach out to your comrades, they will help you. If you want to run away, there are people who can help. I’m not saying suicide, or murder, or becoming a missing-nin. I'm saying that there's a network of people close to you. You just have to open the cage for them. They're not going to do it themselves. You have to help yourself."  
"You said five people knew, why did you change it to four?"  
"Gai and Ebisu know because they were on my Genin team. Choza knows because he was my Sensei. The only other person who knew was the Fourth. But now you know which bumps it back to five. Which is a good number." Genma sipped his tea again. His stomach growled so he stood and grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter. “do you want anything to eat?"  
Neji shook his head. "When you say your mother took a hit to the head…"  
Genma shrugged, "I have no idea if it was him. As far as I know, and what the official report says, it was a tree branch." He bit into the apple.

The two of them talked for a few hours before Neji excused himself as it got dark outside. Genma sighed as he made his way to his bedroom, peeking out at the garden as the fireflies emerged and danced around the leaves. The garden was going to have to wait until after his mission. 

The truth was Genma hadn’t meant to give the advice to Neji but it's hard for him to keep his mouth shut when someone seems like they could benefit from his advice. A trait that has gotten him into trouble before. (You would be surprised how many people get offended by nonchalant words of wisdom.) And now as he stared at the ceiling in his room, he found himself thinking back to how lucky he was. And as he drifted to sleep, he found himself remembering his flight from his own cage.


	2. Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing

Genma stood with his hands in his pockets next to Gai and Ebisu. He knew them from the academy and hadn’t really thought much about being teamed up with them. He honestly didn’t care about who was on his team as long as they didn’t hold him back.

Their jonin sensei, Choza, stood in front of them. He was a large man. Easily five times Genma’s size and he smiled like he actually wanted to be in charge of three brats.

“Today we will be assessing your strengths and weaknesses. Your goal is to come at me with everything you can and try to knock me down, while I try to knock you down. You’re each going to do so one at a time and then as a team.” Genma felt his eyebrow raise. Gai was the only one with any hope of managing this by himself. As a team, they stood a better chance. He glanced at Ebisu from the corner of his eye and saw that the kid had a similar frown on his face. Gai was already stretching and Genma turned to him as he exclaimed, “I will go first!”

He charged forward in a blur of green. Ebisu and Genma watched as Gai landed a few blows before their sensei switched up his tactics and began to evade rather than anchor himself down, giving Gai a moving target. The spar lasted about five minutes but ultimately Gai was flung like a rag doll when one of his punches went wide. Gai bounced right back up and bowed to Choza who chuckled at him. “You are an honorable sensei! I look forward to working with you!”

Ebisu and Genma exchanged looks again.

“Who’s next?” The large man asked still smiling. Genma shrugged and stepped forward. He had no idea what he was going to do, so he decided to start with an outright attack and try to gain some information. Similarly with what happened to Gai Choza took the first few hits. Genma was astounded by how solid the man was. It was as if he was trying to fight an entire house. He knew then there was no way he was going to be able to knock this man down. Not on his own at least. He put in a good effort. He threw kunai, used a substitution justu, tried to sneak around him, and even at the end just tried to push him over. Their match had lasted all of four minutes. Before Genma stood up, dusted himself off, and panting stepped back over to his teammates.

“Your turn.” He said to Ebisu as he flopped down on the ground to watch. Gai was currently doing sit-ups as he observed.

Ebisu’s match was similar to the two previously, but he was able to stay standing for six minutes with the use of a well-timed fire justu and an explosive tag.

“Excellent. Now all together.” Choza braced himself as Gai charged forward. Genma stayed back, Ebisu made a few attacks also watching. The two of them exchanged another look.

“Do you have more tags?” Genma mouthed, and Ebisu nodded. Using Gai as a distraction, Ebisu went behind the man and set up a small tripwire attached to the tag. Genma started to attack with Gai driving their new Sensei back. Once he hit the area with the wire, Ebisu threw a few kunai and Gai, catching on quickly, swept under his feet.

A few things happened all at once then.

The tag went off.

Choza stumbled but didn’t fall.

Genma tried to push him over.

Choza grabbed Genma’s arms and held him aloft, causing his shirt to rise.

Genma reacted, spitting directly in Choza’s eye with enough force behind it for the man to drop him. Genma hit the ground with a thud before rolling back to his feet. He pulled his shirt down and made sure his sleeves were over his arms. Panting and still a bit wild-eyed he took in the area.

Choza had a hand over his eye, as he looked at them.

It was tense as the smoke cleared before the man let out a booming laugh.

“Very good. We can work with this.” He removed his hand and tenderly poked at the flesh around it. He gave Genma a peculiar look as he nodded at them.

“For the time being. I think we can start by doing some basic exercises. Let’s say, a hundred fifty pushups, and a six-mile run.”

Gai jumped up with a whoop before setting into the push-ups. Ebisu looked at the ground reluctantly before he too started them. Genma’s heart was still racing in his chest. He closed his eyes as he started his push-ups. Focusing on the ground beneath his palms.

He didn’t notice Choza’s blooming black eye, or the concerned look he gave Genma.

As far as Genma knew, his new sensei hadn’t seen the bruises painted across his ribs and arms. And if he did, he could just write them off as a training accident.

Just like he did every other time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drabbles of sorts. That's how this is going to play out I think. Maybe someday I will be able to dedicate myself to writing it out more but right now it's just a series of scenes in my brain. I really like Genma as a character and he fascinates me. Probably because we know so very little about him canonically.   
> thanks for reading

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
